


Curiosity

by rosegoldroman



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: M/M, Mermaid Patton
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-14
Updated: 2019-05-14
Packaged: 2020-03-04 20:58:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18820609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosegoldroman/pseuds/rosegoldroman
Summary: In hindsight, rescuing the merman was the easy part. Getting it to go home? That was going to be tough.





	Curiosity

There was a merman in his bathtub.

There was a  _merman._  In his  _bathtub._  In his  _house._  A person with the bottom half of a fish. A mythical creature. In his bathtub! Unconscious! Injured!

Virgil had stopped wondering what god he’d pissed off a long time ago, but really, his life was already hard enough, did they have to throw a fish-person into the mix?  _Into his bathtub?_

Okay, so maybe  _he’d_  been the one to put the merman into his bathtub, but really, could you blame him? The guy was trapped in a fishing net, barely breathing by the time Virgil got to him, and they were far enough from the shore that there was no way Virgil could carry him back in time. But his house was right there. The bathtub seemed like the most obvious solution at the time.

Okay, so maybe he’d panicked a little! Maybe the bathtub wasn’t the best idea! But now the merman was in the bathtub and there was no taking him out, at least until he’d woken up and told Virgil what exactly he had to do —

 _If_  he could tell Virgil what to do. Holy shit, what if he didn’t speak English? What if he thought Virgil had kidnapped him? What if he freaked out and did  _something_  to him?

He ran his hands through his hair, leaving it damp with saltwater, and tried to stop the tides of panic crashing against his lungs. He had to figure this out. He could just… call Logan. He could call Logan. He’d know what to do, he always —

“Hello?”

He yelped, springing away from the bathroom door like a startled cat. The voice was strange and lilting, slightly unsure, but not malicious, at least. And that was definitely English, so. One problem gone.

Once his heart had stopped trying to burst through his ribcage, he yanked up his hood and steeled himself, shoving through the bathroom door before he could stop himself. The merman in his bathtub froze, wide eyes locked on Virgil’s face, and wow, his eyes were really shiny? And pretty? And oh, oh _no_ , he wasn’t gonna follow that train of thought, no thanks.

“Where am I?” the merman asked, coiling as much of his sparkling blue tail beneath the water as he could. He gently touched the cuts running across his skin, eyebrows furrowing. “What… what happened?”

“I —” Virgil stopped and cleared his throat to sound cooler, and then immediately shook himself, because  _no, you don’t need to sound cool for the hot merman._ “You were caught in a fishing net. I-I didn’t know where else to bring you.”

“You saved my life?” the merman exclaimed. “T-Thank you. I-I owe you one, kiddo.”

“Uh. It was… nothing.” He cleared his throat again, shoving his hands in his pockets. “So —”

“Where exactly  _did_  you bring me, though? I didn’t know humans had little pieces of the ocean in their house! How cute!” He ran a hand along the side of the bathtub, wonder sparkling in his eyes.

“That’s… that’s a bathtub,” Virgil said, raising an eyebrow. “It’s… not the ocean. It’s for cleaning.”

“But it’s got water!” As if to prove his point, the merman splashed, sending water flying across Virgil’s bathroom.

“Different water,” Virgil said, nose wrinkling as he shook the water from his hoodie. “Listen, I —”

“Ooh!” The merman had fixated on something behind him; Virgil turned and nearly jumped out of his skin at his own reflection, staring back at him from the mirror. “What’s that?”

“A-A mirror? Listen, dude, we’ve gotta —”

“What’s it for?”

“It’s for looking at yourself,” he said quickly, shaking his head. “Can you just —”

“And what about this?” the merman asked, pointing to the toilet, and nope, Virgil wasn’t explaining that. He kneeled down beside the tub, forcing the merman’s attention on him.

“We have to get you home,” he said quickly, before the curious merman could ask any more questions. “I shouldn’t have even brought you here, but you can’t stay, and it’s getting late, so we have to leave. How do I get you home?”

The merman giggled. The scales dotting his face, like freckles, glimmered in the dying sunlight. “You’re a funny human,” he said. “I like you.”

Virgil made a noise somewhere between a squeak and a frustrated growl, ducking his head to hide the fire that spread across his cheeks. He tensed as a hand settled on his shoulder and moved along, up his hood, the fire only growing as the merman cooed in wonder.

“Who are you?” he asked, that same adorable curiosity lacing his tone.

“Uh. Virgil.” He pulled down his hood and the merman withdrew his hand, eyes widening. A moment later he shoved his face into Virgil’s, mouth agape in wonder.

“You have  _purple hair? HOW?”_

It was going to be a long night.


End file.
